Marine Cpl. Anthony T. McElveen

Died December 1, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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20, of Little Falls, Minn.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward); killed Dec. 1 by an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Fallujah, Iraq. Also killed were Staff Sgt. Daniel J. Clay, Lance Cpl. John M. Holmason, Lance Cpl. David A. Huhn, Lance Cpl. Adam W. Kaiser, Lance Cpl. Robert A. Martinez, Lance Cpl. Scott T. Modeen, Lance Cpl. Andrew G. Patten, Sgt. Andy A. Stevens, and Lance Cpl. Craig N. Watson.

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Marine killed in Iraq to be honored in Little Falls

The Associated Press

LITTLE FALLS, Minn. — Friends and family will gather Dec. 11 and 12 to remember a Minnesota Marine who was killed last week in Iraq.

A wake for Cpl. Anthony McElveen was planned for Dec. 11 at Shelley Funeral Chapel in Little Falls. McElveen’s funeral will be held at 10 a.m. Dec. 12 at the Camp Ripley Funeral Chapel.

McElveen’s parents have invited the public to both services.

McElveen and nine other Marines died Dec. 1 when an explosion was set off as the troops were leaving a promotion ceremony in an abandoned flour mill.

McElveen, 20, had been assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Division, based at Twentynine Palms, Calif. He was attached to the 2nd Marine Division from Camp Lejeune, N.C., when he died.

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Wake held for Minnesota Marine

The Associated Press

LITTLE FALLS, Minn. — Relatives and friends gathered Dec. 11 to remember Cpl. Anthony McElveen of Little Falls, one of 10 Marines who died Dec. 1 in a roadside bomb attack in Iraq.

“He was quiet in class, but well-known throughout the school,” said Nicole Olson, of Brainerd, who had known him since third grade. There were many Tonys in school, Olson said, but he was known by the nickname “Ant.”

McElveen, 21, was the one who wanted to make people feel comfortable, she told the St. Cloud Times. In middle school, she said, he would play matchmaker, trying to set people up. He was always smiling and had a gentle and polite demeanor, she said.

Olson graduated with McElveen from Little Falls High School in 2003. She stood with several other classmates outside of the Shelley Funeral Chapel around cars with “R.I.P. Anthony” tributes on their windows.

Keri Pitman, of Little Falls, was in ninth grade when McElveen was a senior. He was a great friend and had many friends, she said.

McElveen’s death did not shake her plan to join the National Guard, she said.

“I think this makes me stronger — knowing what I have to look forward to, what are the things that could happen,” she said.

Many of McElveen’s teachers and school advisers said he was emboldened by his decision to join the Marines.

“He was so proud when he told me he was going to join the Marines,” said Mary Larson, a teacher at Little Falls High School.

McElveen’s funeral is scheduled for Dec. 12 at the Camp Ripley Chapel.

Killed in the same attack near Fallujah was Lance Cpl. Scott Modeen, 24, of New Hope. His funeral was scheduled for Dec. 12 at Sacred Heart Church in Robbinsdale.